Amber Riley

Amber Riley

Riley at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego
Born Amber Patrice Riley
February 15, 1986
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actress, singer-songwriter, philanthropist, dancer, author
Years active 2002; 2009–present

Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and philanthropist, best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox television series Glee. She is also known for winning season 17 of Dancing with the Stars.[1]

Early life

Amber Riley was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Tiny (née Hightower) and Elwin Riley.[2] Riley auditioned for American Idol when she was 17 years old, during the show's second season, but was turned down by the producers.[3] She graduated from La Mirada High School in La Mirada, California in 2004.[4]

Career

In 2008, Riley was cast in the role of Mercedes Jones on the comedy-drama television series Glee, and appeared as a main cast member for its first four seasons. She was demoted to a recurring guest star status starting with the fifth season.[5] She performed numerous solos on the show, including "Respect", "Bust Your Windows", "Hate on Me", "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", "Beautiful", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "I Look to You", "Hell to the No", "Ain't No Way", "Try a Little Tenderness", "Spotlight", "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and, three days after Whitney Houston's death, performed a tribute version of "I Will Always Love You". She also played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the episode "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", singing the lead on the song "Sweet Transvestite" to generally positive reviews from critics.[6][7] For her role as Mercedes Jones, she won a Screen Actors Guild Award and received nominations for an NAACP Image Award and a Teen Choice Award.

In 2013, Riley won the seventeenth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and was partnered with the show's one and only five-time champion, Derek Hough.[8] Riley and Hough tied the record for highest first-week score of 27, received 5 perfect scores of 30, and only received a score lower than 8 one time. Riley is the first African-American woman to win Dancing With the Stars.

Riley appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs, sang the national anthem at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, and is currently working on a debut solo studio album.[9] She also co-wrote a track titled "Leave a Light On" for British group The Saturdays which is featured on their album Living for the Weekend.[10] Riley's debut single "Colorblind" premiered live on April 3, 2014, on The Queen Latifah Show. The song was written by Emeli Sandé, Claude Kelly and Steve Mac, and was released as a digital download on April 8, 2014.[11] The song was also performed by Riley on Glee.

Dancing with the Stars performances

Week # Dance/song Judges' score Result
Inaba Goodman Tonioli
1 Cha-Cha-Cha/"Wings" 9 9 9 No Elimination
2 Jive/"Reet Petite" 8 8 8 Safe
3 Charleston/"Bang Bang" 8 8 8 Safe
4 Tango/"Love Lockdown" 9 91 9 Safe
5 Foxtrot/"Try a Little Tenderness" 9 7 10 Safe
6 Samba/"Get It Right"
Switch-Up Challenge		 10
Awarded		 8
4		 10
Points		 No Elimination
7 Paso Doble/"Diablo Rojo"
Group Dance Freestyle/"The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)"		 10
10		 10
10		 9
10		 Safe
8 Rumba/"If I Could Turn Back Time" 9 92 10 Safe (Immunity)
9 Quickstep/"That's It!"
Salsa (Trio challenge)3/"Que Viva la Vida"		 8
9		 8
9		 8
9		 Safe
10
Semi-finals		 Jazz/"Locked Out of Heaven"
Viennese Waltz/"Locked Out of Heaven" (Acoustic Version)		 10
10		 10/94
10/104		 10
10		 Safe
11
Finals		 Charleston/"Bang Bang"
Samba relay/"No Scrubs"
Freestyle/"Can You Do This"		 10
Awarded
10		 10
4
10		 10
points
10		 Safe
Quickstep & Samba Fusion/"(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" 10 10 10 Won
1In week four, judge Len Goodman was absent and guest judge Julianne Hough filled in for him.
2In week eight, judge Len Goodman was absent and guest judge Cher filled in for him.
3The dancer Hough and Riley chose for the Trio Challenge is Mark Ballas.
4Scores from guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Philanthropy

In 2011, Riley acted as a campaign spokesperson for Do Something and VH1 Save The Music Foundation's second annual Battle for the Bands. Riley starred in a PSA campaign and engaged fans through social media to participate in the campaign that mobilized young people in the fight for keeping music education in schools.[12] Riley has also teamed up with State Farm's Celebrate My Drive campaign to advocate safe awareness for Beginner Drivers, and Encouragement for youth.

Discography

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
US
2014 "Colorblind" — TBA
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2002 St. Sass Toby Television pilot
2009–15 Glee Mercedes Jones Seasons 1–4, 6 (Series regular; 81 episodes)
Season 5 (Recurring role; 12 episodes)
Won — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2010)
Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2011)
Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2012)
Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (2013)
Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer (2010)
Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Music: Group (shared with Glee cast) (2010)
Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer (2011)
2010 Simpsons, TheThe Simpsons Aiesha Episode: "Elementary School Musical"
2011 Glee: The 3D Concert Movie Mercedes Jones Movie
2012 VH1 Divas Herself Presenter
2013 Dancing With the Stars Herself She won the season on November 26, 2013
Partnered with Derek Hough

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amber Riley.